Wednesday, October 13, 2004

Weeds Under Control?

The Noxious Weed Control Act is just a few steps away from being signed into law. The NWCA, also known as S. 144, creates a program under the Secretary of Agriculture that will provide federal assistance (read: $$) to weed management agencies fighting noxious weeds. Spearheaded by Idaho Senator Larry Craig, the bill was passed unanimously by the Senate, and is now on its way to President Bush...no word on whether he plans to sign it or not. You can read the full press release here.

For this bill, "Noxious Weed" is defined as it was in the Plant Protection Act (pdf) passed in 2000:
"The term ‘‘noxious weed’’ means any plant or plant product that can directly or indirectly injure or cause damage to crops (including nursery stock or plant products), livestock, poultry, or other interests of agriculture, irrigation, navigation, the natural resources of the United States, the public health, or the environment."
So while it is likely that a great amount of resources would go towards agricultural weeds (this was wholeheartedly supported by Idaho after all), projects involving threatened natural resources would also qualify.